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| | | Book Name: The Discipline of Transcendence, Vol 3 | Previous Next | |
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is no soul in man, if there is nothing immortal in man, then why make so much effort? why meditate? for what?
Buddha says this idea of the self is a misunderstanding. You are, but you are not a self. You are, but you are not separate from the universe. The separation is the root-idea in the concept of self: if I am separate from you then I have a self; if you are separate from me then you have a self.
But Buddha says: Existence is one. There are no boundaries. No-body is separate from anybody else. We live in one ocean of consciousness. We ARE one consciousness -- deluded by the boundaries of the body, deluded by the boundaries of the mind. And because of the body and the mind, and because of the identification with the body and mind, we think we are separate, we think we are selves. This is how we create the ego.
It is just like on the map you see India, but on the earth itself there is no India -- only on the map of the politicians. On the map you see the American continent, the African continent as separate, but deep down, down under the oceans, the earth is one. All continents are together, they are all one earth.
We are separate only on the surface. The deeper we go, the more separation disappears. When we come to the very core of our being, suddenly it is universal, there is no selfhood in it, no soul there.
Buddha has no belief for God, for soul, for MOKSHA. Then what is his teaching? His teaching is a way of life, not a way of belief. His teaching is very scientific, very empirical, very practical. He is not a philosopher, not a metaphysician. He is a very down-to-earth man.
Buddha says: You can change your life -- these beliefs are not needed. In fact, these beliefs are the barriers for the real change. Start with no belief, start with no metaphysics, start with no dogma. Start absolutely naked and nude, with no theology, no ideology. Start empty! That is the only way to come to truth.
I was reading an anecdote:
This travelling salesman opened the Gideon Bible in his motel room. On the front page he read the inscription: "If you are sick, read psalm 18; if you are troubled about your family, read psalm
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